Circuit Jerk

There’s a glowing memory of getting flanked by two soldiers while a mech attacked me from in front. I had to adjust my tactics every battle so the A.I. would learn from me. Brilliant explosions of sparks littered the cubical of the office building. Just when I thought I was making headway I would hear a soldier call for backups and seconds later see a transport drop them off.

I bought “F.E.A.R. Files” before F.E.A.R. 2 came out, hoping to prep myself for what I remember being the toughest A.I. in history. I still don’t remember in the original F.E.A.R. was as tough as I remember, but F.E.A.R. Files isn’t. There are times where I think I’m seeing what I remember. For instance, early on you enter a church. I had two soldiers spraying bullets through the only open doors while two other solders worked on tearing down the wall next to me.

Beyond that though, the soldiers just become bullet fodder. I whizzed through about half the expansion, got to a frustrating part where I couldn’t figure out where I was supposed to go, and quit.

I almost feel like I need to pick up a copy of F.E.A.R. to either validate or destroy my memory. I guess my question is, has A.I. surpassed F.E.A.R. to where it was once a benchmark, but now is an old war vet talking about when he was a kid.

Some games I would say yes.

Left 4 Dead‘s director has been praised for its ruthless ability to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comforted. With the controversial sequel coming out this year with improved A.I., more special infected, and the “no hiding in the closet” endings, it promises to raise the bar again.

Metal Gear Solid IV might have been filled with pawns with guns, but at the same time, those pawns were killing you. They were smart enough to check obvious hiding spots, hurl a grenade behind your cover, and make Otacon’s voice go hoarse screaming “SNAKE!”

Stalker: Clear Sky wasn’t a game that I personally played. (Mostly because my laptop would have a seizure and go brain dead if I tried to run it.) I watched Matt try again and again to break the line of conflict only to get gunned down in the radioactive streets. I watched as one soldiers hurled grenades to funnel Matt and his A.I. counterparts into kill zones where the other soldiers could gun them down.

I think there is something to say about the original F.E.A.R. It changed games whereas the normal henchmen only knew how to run at you and try to take you down before you took them down, most the time being nothing more than shotgun fodder. The bosses were the only ones that could think for themselves and often only thought to throw their henchmen in large numbers at you. Now the henchman is the new boss and the boss is a demigod. Thank you F.E.A.R.! Although you are no longer a challenge, you’ve brought many to my life since.